PROPONENTS OF GAY-MARRIAGE BAN MAKE HAY OF NEW YORK RULING: From the NY Sun

The prospect that New York's highest court could legalize same-sex marriage in the Empire State could generate new support in Congress for a constitutional amendment to ban such unions, activists say.

The New York Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the traditional definition of marriage violates the state Constitution, and the amendment's supporters say the decision played right into their strategy.

They want to see another vote on the amendment, which was rejected in both legislative houses last Congress, as soon as enough pro-gay-marriage court cases "ripen" in state and federal courts, said the president of the Alliance for Marriage, Matt Daniels, whose group wrote the amendment.

Friday's ruling "is helping our cause," Mr. Daniels said.

"Within five minutes, the news of the decision was spreading through the relevant networks in Congress," said Mr. Daniels, who said he heard about the ruling from an ally on Capitol Hill before he heard it on the news. ...

A pro-gay-marriage group, Human Rights Campaign, also mobilized after Friday's decision, calling members of Congress to emphasize that the decision would not affect federal marriage benefits or a federal law that allows states to refuse to recognize each other's same-sex unions. Supporters of the amendment countered that New York State Supreme Court Judge Doris Ling-Cohan cited the Massachusetts ruling, demonstrating that judicial decisions in one state echo in other states.

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posted by Eve at 3:05 PM | link

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